Finding Home
by Ebony-Jayne
Summary: Alice foresees two Nomadic vampires heading toward Forks, all she can tell about them  from her visions is that they are very hungry and they are looking for something…what kind of trouble do these two have in store for the Cullens? – Post-Breaking Dawn
1. Chapter 1

Title: Finding Home

Author: Ebony-Jayne

Notes: Alice foresees two Nomadic vampires heading toward Forks, all she can tell about them from her visions is that they are very hungry and they are looking for something…what kind of trouble do these two have in store for the Cullens? – Takes place a year post-Breaking Dawn

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, I wish I did 'cos that'd be awesome but unfortunately all I own of Twilight is the books and the DVDs.

A/N: I am from New Zealand and therefore I use British spelling and a British spell checker so if it doesn't look right that's most likely why…or it's a typo I missed in editing…a prominent one that people might notice is ochre eyes as opposed to ocher eyes…

~T~

Chapter One: Beautiful Day

Bella Cullen stretched out in the sun and closed her eyes contentedly.

"Watch Daddy!" she heard her daughter Renesmee call out. Bella cracked an eye open, to see what the half vampire child was up to now. Up was right, halfway up a tree to be exact. "Are you watching?"

"I'm watching," Edward replied somewhat wryly. Renesmee pushed off the tree and landed catlike in the grass, giggling hysterically. Bella sighed and closed her eyes again, listening to Renesmee's giggles turn into shrieks of delight as her father picked her up and swung her around. Soon the giggling stopped and Bella heard the whisper soft footsteps of her husband coming toward her. She cracked one ochre eye open as he lay down in the grass beside her.

"It's a beautiful day," he said softly.

"It is," Bella agreed as Edward leaned over, kissing her gently.

"Yuck," a little voice stated as they pulled back. Renesmee was standing in front of them, hands on her little hips. Bella laughed as the little girl turned and ran toward the trees just as Jacob Black emerged from them, pulling a shirt on over his head. "Jacob!" Renesmee called as she ran to him. Bella watched as the huge boy lifted her daughter up onto his shoulders easily as he walked toward them.

"Hey Bells, Edward," he grinned.

"Hey Jake," Bella replied.

"Jake," Edward nodded. Bella couldn't contain her smile at the exchange. After so long her two favourite people in the world were getting along like old friends. Like all of the conflict had never happened. It had been months since they had become friends but it still thrilled Bella to no end. Suddenly Bella registered that Edward's face had darkened, and that his attention had drifted somewhere else, probably to whatever he was hearing.

"What? What is it?" she asked.

"Alice is having a vision," he said shortly. Bella quieted to let him concentrate. It took only a few seconds before he leaped up and said "When is this crap going to end?" intense frustration colouring his voice.

~T~

By the time Edward, Bella, Jake and Renesmee had got inside Alice had grouped the rest of the Cullens together in the living room. Esme smiled when she saw Jake.

"Hello Jake," she greeted.

"Esme," he grinned at the small vampire as he moved to sit on the couch next to Emmett.

"Ugh," Emmett made a show of holding his nose. Jake elbowed him in the ribs and they both laughed.

"What did you see Alice," Carlisle pulled everyone back to the reason they were all assembled. Alice gave a weary sigh.

"I saw two nomads," she told them. "I couldn't tell much about them from the vision, just that they are headed for Forks, that they are extremely hungry and that they are hunting for something or someone," Alice gave another weary sigh.

"When will they arrive?" Carlisle asked, everyone in the room had taken on Alice's weariness. It seemed drama couldn't stay away from the Cullens for long these days.

"They arrive sometime after dark tonight," Alice told them.

~T~

A little while after the darkness fell over Forks the Cullens found themselves standing on the outskirts of town, awaiting the arrival of the nomads. They had fallen into something of a defensive position, Carlisle and Edward stood side by side at the front, Jasper and Emmett Flanked them on either side with Alice, Bella and Rosalie fanned out behind them. They stood casually though, not wanting to provoke their expected visitors.

"So what are we looking for?" Emmett asked.

"One is a tall blonde man, the other is a tiny brunette girl, doesn't look very old at all," Alice told them. They all retrained their eyes on the road in front of them, waiting for signs of the coming vampires.

They waited a long time for the nomads to make their appearance. It was a little after 3 in the morning when they finally appeared at the end of the long straight road. Emmett automatically dropped into an aggressive stance but straightened back into his casual position at a sharp whispered order from Carlisle.

As the two vampires approached Edward managed to catch the man's thoughts, he was concerned by their defensive position , concerned for the safety of the littler vampire and Edward saw him reach out and tuck her slightly behind him. Edward tried to read the girl's thoughts but it was bizarre…they seemed to exist around her rather than within her mind. He caught a snatch of one but it was only the briefest flash before the thought was gone and it only seemed like a piece of a thought rather than the whole thing. He had never encountered anything like it in his whole existence as a vampire. It set him on edge that he had no idea what she was thinking. The two stopped about 30 feet away from the Cullens. The two sides eyed each other briefly; Carlisle glanced at Jasper out of the corner of his eye, Jasper sensing nothing threatening in either of the vampire's demeanours, just hunger and fear of the Cullens, nodded almost imperceptibly. Carlisle took a step forward.

"Hello, my name is Carlisle Cullen."

~T~

Not the strongest start I know but I haven't really written in a long time and am having a bit of trouble getting back into the swing of things. Hopefully now that I have the first chapter out I will stop the stutter-y writing and get back into it and it will get better.

Reviews make me happy!


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Finding Home

Author: Ebony-Jayne

Notes: Who are these strange vampires? What do they want? What is up with the little one's thoughts?

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, I wish I did 'cos that'd be awesome but unfortunately all I own of Twilight is the books and the DVDs.

A/N: I am from New Zealand and therefore I use British spelling and a British spell checker so if it doesn't look right that's most likely why…or it's a typo I missed in editing…a prominent British spelling that people might notice is ochre eyes as opposed to ocher eyes…

~T~

Chapter Two: Strangers in the Night

"_Hello, my name is Carlisle Cullen." _

Carlisle took a small step forward and as he did the smaller of the two vampires growled and dropped into a slight crouch. The flanking Cullen's except for Jasper all followed suit. Edward caught Jaspers thoughts and quickly whispered an order to the others who quickly regained their casual stances.

"I'm sorry," the tall man called out to the Cullen's. "She's a little afraid, she means you no threat or harm," he had a soft southern accent and a very friendly smile despite his hungry charcoal eyes; he gripped the small vampire's upper arm and tugged her gently out of her crouch.

"I imagine a coven this size could seem a little threatening," Carlisle offered a friendly smile of his own. The tall man gave a gentle laugh.

"I am Wyatt Grey," he told them. "This is my sister, Kalia."

"Nice to meet you," Carlisle told him. "These are my children; Edward, Emmett, Jasper, Bella, Alice and Rosalie," he introduced, indicating them all in turn. "What brings you to Forks?" Carlisle asked.

"Well actually we were in search of your coven," Wyatt told him. "Word filtered to the south of your family and your victory over the Volturi. We also heard of your unique lifestyle. We have never found others in the south who feed solely on animal blood as we do…although I suppose right now you probably can't tell that about us," Wyatt smiled ruefully. "Kalia doesn't like to hunt away from home." The small vampire was watching the Cullens warily, her eyes went from one to the next but it was odd, she never looked them in the eye. Her head would turn toward one vampire but her eyes would fix just slightly to the left of their head.

"You are not nomadic then?" Carlisle stepped forward, intrigued. Kalia backed up and growled a little, her strange gaze shifting to Carlisle.

"Kalia, settle," Wyatt soothed. "No we are not nomadic. We have a small home near Las Vegas. No shortage of night jobs for me there. And it is a place where our appearance doesn't make us stand out. There are some much weirder looking things than vampires in Vegas," he told them with a grin. They all laughed a little at that, the tension in the air thinned a little.

"That's for sure," Carlisle chuckled. Edward was watching Kalia intently, trying to catch the fragments of thought that whirled around her. All of a sudden the thought fragments came together like puzzle pieces and her thoughts became like anyone else's. Edward could see that she was thinking about the visions she had had of the Cullens and how excited she was to finally meet them. He was caught up in the thoughts for a fraction of a second before he registered that Kalia was looking him straight in the eye. She held his gaze another second before her eyes drifted back to the left of his head. And like that her thoughts were in pieces again. Edward's eyes widened. He had never ever encountered anything like that before.

"If you need to hunt we can show you where it is safe to do so," Carlisle offered. Wyatt looked down at Kalia who nodded.

"Yes please, that would be very much appreciated," Wyatt said gratefully. Kalia simply smiled gratefully in Carlisle's general direction.

~T~

While the girls headed back to the house to tell Esme what was going on, Carlisle and the boys led Kalia and Wyatt in a wide berth around their home and up into the hills to hunt. They didn't take them far, just far enough to find some elk.

When they caught the scent and sound of the herd they slowed and let the two hungry newcomers go ahead. Kalia was very graceful when she hunted, whereas Wyatt was quick and purposeful. When they had had their fill they rejoined the Cullens. Both vampires' eyes were rich amber now.

"Thank you. This is much more comfortable," Wyatt told them. Kalia again smiled in their general direction. While they had been hunting Carlisle had spoken with Edward and Jasper, and they had decided to invite the two back to their house. Neither Jasper nor Edward could sense any threat from the newcomers and they had no doubt that if the two did become a threat, between them and the wolves it wouldn't be an issue.

"You're welcome. Would you like to come back to our home?" Carlisle offered.

"That would be lovely, but only if you are comfortable with having us there," Wyatt replied. "We truly mean you no harm but we are aware you have no way of knowing if that's true."

"We know more than you think," Carlisle told him cryptically.

~T~

"Your home is beautiful," Wyatt told Carlisle, his voice filled with awe as they exited the trees and the Cullen home came into view.

"Thank you," Carlisle smiled. He led them inside and into the living room where the others, minus Bella and Renesmee, were waiting. Esme stepped forward to greet them. "My wife Esme," Carlisle told them. "Esme this is Wyatt Grey and his sister Kalia."

"Lovely to meet you," Esme said politely. Kalia tucked in close to Wyatt but smiled in Esme's direction.

"Kalia has a very interesting 'ability'," Edward stated, his curiosity and desire to share getting the better of him.

"You'll find that Kalia has several of them," Wyatt said somewhat wryly.

"Really?" Carlisle couldn't hide his intrigue.

"I read thoughts," Edward told Wyatt. "But hers are strange, they almost seem to exist outside of her, and they're in fragments…but as soon as she looked me in the eye I could read her thoughts like I could anyone else's." Carlisle was looking between Edward, Wyatt and Kalia. His interest was clearly piqued.

"Well I always knew that she had some kind of ability to protect her thoughts from someone with an ability such as yours, but I've never known exactly what it was. It's rather intriguing isn't it?" Wyatt seemed as surprised and interested as anyone else.

"What other abilities do you have Kalia?" Carlisle asked. The little vampire looked toward Carlisle then at Wyatt. Then slowly, very slowly she raised her hand, her palm facing out in a 'stop' gesture at Carlisle. She glanced at Wyatt again briefly. Then…

_Hello._

The single word echoed in Carlisle's mind in a soft sweet voice. It made him jump.

"Oh my," Carlisle said softly. Kalia smiled.

_I like your house._

"Thank you," Carlisle replied. It was a bizarre feeling, looking into Kalia's still face and hearing her voice inside his head.

"Strange isn't it? It takes some getting used to," Wyatt told him.

"Strange is an apt description," Carlisle hadn't taken his eyes off of the smaller vampire, who had slowly lowered her hand now.

"What did she do?" Esme asked curiously.

"She spoke directly into Carlisle's head," Edward told her. Kalia had now shrunk back into Wyatt's side, hiding her face, clearly not enjoying the scrutiny she was receiving from the Cullens.

"She also sees the future?" Carlisle asked. Wyatt nodded.

"She can protect her visions from outside intervention too," Wyatt told him. "She sleeps. It's an utterly strange thing to see." Kalia was peeking at Esme as Wyatt spoke. When Esme looked at her she smiled shyly.

"I'd like to see that," Carlisle's eyes had taken on something of a hungry look. It was a hunger to know more about the intriguing little immortal in front of him. "I've never met a vampire with more than one extra ability before," Carlisle told Wyatt. "Have you any idea what may have caused it?"

"Well, I have a theory on that but first, if it's ok with Kalia, I'd like to tell you her story..." Wyatt told them. Kalia nodded softly once.

~T~

Slightly longer, hopefully a bit better than the last one…

Reviews? Pretty please? *Bats eyelids and pouts*


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Finding Home

Author: Ebony-Jayne

Notes: The story of how Kalia came to be.

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, I wish I did 'cos that'd be awesome but unfortunately all I own of Twilight is the books and the DVDs.

A/N: I am from New Zealand and therefore I use British spelling and a British spell checker so if it doesn't look right that's most likely why…or it's a typo I missed in editing…a prominent British spelling that people might notice is ochre eyes as opposed to ocher eyes…

~T~

Chapter Three: Kalia's Story

"_It was February of 1998…"_

"I was hunting in the hills near my home at that time. I had finished hunting and was heading down the hill toward my home. I heard light footsteps running down the road, a car coming far too fast and then a thump. And I smelled blood…so much blood. I rushed to the edge of the trees and saw a man stagger from his car, saw the tiny body on the road. I saw him get in his car and leave her there. Even from that far away I could hear that she was still alive. I heard her little heart beating in her chest. I wanted to chase that bastard down and tear him to pieces," Wyatt lost his gentle tone and fair growled the last sentence. He sucked in an unnecessary but calming breath. "I went to her, intending to get help for her…But as soon as I saw her I knew there was no way she would survive long enough for me to get help and for it to get to her. Instinct took over. Instinct and the idea of having someone to keep me company…"what was the harm?" I thought. She was going to die anyway," Wyatt noticed the looks exchanged between several Cullen's at that. "I bit her, on her neck, her wrists, her elbows… hoping against hope that it'd be enough. Then I carried her to the cabin I lived in. It didn't take long for the venom to begin to heal and change her. She stayed completely still and silent throughout the change. I was sure I had done something wrong. I remembered writhing and crying out in agony during my own change all too well…" Wyatt heard a quiet murmur of agreement around him. He looked down at Kalia who was absently playing with her fingernails and sneaking peeks at the Cullens.

"I left briefly a couple of times to get newspapers in the hope that I could find out something about her. On the second day there was an article about a missing girl; Kalia Elizabeth Anders, 15 years old, autistic, loves to run, escapes like a mini Houdini," Wyatt smiled fondly. "I led the police to the man who hit her, saying I saw a car on the side of the road that night as I drove to my home. After a few days she began to stir, then awoke. I waited for the bloodlust to begin…It never did. I took her out hunting and she picked it all up fast. Within weeks she was accompanying me into town at night, breaking into libraries to read books. She never even flinched being among humans. I was stunned. The other thing was that she never spoke. I researched autism and learned that some severely autistic children never speak or rarely speak," Wyatt told them. He smiled when he noticed that all of the Cullen's were listening intently, intrigued. Carlisle seemed the most intrigued, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, his chin on his tented fingers.

"I guessed that it would either come with time, or it wouldn't. She understood me fine. It was apparent from the start that she was…different to others of our kind. She never makes eye contact, she has innately human quirks-" Wyatt cut off when he felt Kalia tuck her face between his shoulder and the couch. He realised that she was hiding from Edward's penetrating gaze. He was clearly trying to read her mind. "It was a few weeks after the change that she had her first vision. We were waiting for darkness to go hunting when she suddenly lay down and closed her eyes. She stopped her habitual breathing and the only movement she made was her eyes moving under their lids. It scared me. Then she sat up, held out her palm and 'spoke' to me. She told me we shouldn't hunt in our usual spot, that there was a group of hunters in that area and that it would end badly if we went there. I was stunned by what I had just seen. We hunted elsewhere and the next day heard that the hunting party had shot one of it's own members and that the area we would have been in had been crawling with police and rescue workers all night. It would have been messy had we have been there at the time. It took time but I soon became used to her abilities. I moved her to Vegas to get away from her family in case they recognised her. And we have been there since. Living at night, in pleasant obscurity," Wyatt smiled. Kalia was still hiding but sneaking glances at the Cullen's every so often.

"Does she ever speak?" Carlisle asked.

"Very rarely but she is very capable when she does," Wyatt patted the small vampire's knee.

"And you didn't know of the ability that Edward spoke of?" he asked.

"No. I can't read minds so I never encountered it," Wyatt replied.

"But you knew that she had some kind of protection of her thoughts?" Carlisle's face had lit up, his curiosity and intrigue written all over it.

"I did. We visited Italy a few years back. We visited with the Volturi. Aro called her a curiosity because he struggled to read her thoughts…he never elaborated further…I don't think that she ever let him see in," Wyatt told him. He noticed Esme smiling at Kalia and looked down to see the girl smiling back, still studiously avoiding all eye contact.

"He'd like that…did he express his interest? Ask you to stay?" Carlisle asked knowingly.

"He certainly did," Wyatt said, a look of great distaste on his face.

"All the humans you can eat," Carlisle had a similar look of distaste.

"He contacted us just after their…altercation with your family. Really put pressure on us to join them. We just politely declined over and over until he gave up…for the time being," Wyatt told him.

"For the time being," Carlisle echoed, with a grim smile.

A few hours later Carlisle and Wyatt were still intently discussing vampiric abilities and potential causes of them, Esme was listening to them quietly. Jasper and Rosalie were playing a quiet game of chess while Emmett watched, Alice was reading, and Edward had gone into his music room to play his piano. Kalia was wandering the living room silently, never straying far from her 'brother'. She kept looking out of the window of the house in the directions of Bella and Edward's little cottage, a perplexed look on her face. Esme noticed her doing it and knew what was capturing her attention. The older vampire stood and moved to stand next to the tinier girl, who skittered away a few feet. Esme just smiled and stared in the direction that Kalia had been focussed on. Kalia watched her out of the corner of her eye for a bit.

_What is it?_

Esme jumped in fright, sending the little vampire skittering away a further three or four feet.

"I didn't mean to frighten you, I wasn't expecting that," Esme said softly.

_I didn't mean to frighten you either. What is it?_

The little vampire repeated her earlier question. Esme looked over at her. She had turned to slightly face Esme, her head turned to look out of the window, her eyes roving the shadows for the source of the strange heartbeat Esme knew she was hearing.

"Edward and Bella conceived a child while Bella was still human. She is half human, half vampire. It is her heartbeat you hear. Much faster and shallower than a human child," Esme explained.

Kalia glanced very briefly at Esme in surprise before turning back to the window, her amber eyes searching the shadows once again.

Wherever it was…she wanted to see it.

~T~

Sorry for delay…reviews make a more motivated author…


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